Premier League weekend team news Injuries and suspensions update

ESPN - Saturday 12th August, 2017

FRIDAY'S GAME Arsenal vs. Leicester

ARSENAL: Arsenal will be without their injured forward Alexis Sanchez for the opening Premier League game. The Chile international suffered an abdominal injury in training and could miss two weeks, while defender Laurent Koscielny is suspended for the visit of the Foxes. Manager Arsene Wenger has several injury doubts as Mesut Ozil (ankle), Aaron Ramsey (muscular), Per Mertesacker (facial) and Jack Wilshere (leg) could all be absent while Gabriel (knee), Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin (both ankle) are definitely sidelined.

LEICESTER: An injury to summer signing Vicente Iborra will prevent him from making his Leicester debut against Arsenal on Friday night. The Spanish midfielder, a &#163;12.75million arrival from Sevilla, sustained a groin problem in training this week and the club are waiting for the results of scans to determine the length of his absence. His absence is a blow with Danny Drinkwater (thigh) also out. Fellow new recruit Kelechi Iheanacho has recovered from the toe injury he suffered against Borussia Monchengladbach last week and is available to make his debut along with Harry Maguire, with Robert Huth recovering from ankle surgery.

WATFORD: Record signing Andre Gray is in line to make his Watford debut this weekend with Troy Deeney's availability in question owing to recent surgery on his groin. The club captain faces a late fitness test ahead of Saturday's visit of Liverpool but is a doubt given the procedure was only a month ago. Craig Cathcart also misses out because of a knee injury, as does Christian Kabasele due to a hamstring problem. Mauro Zarate, also knee, remains a long-term absentee.

BURNLEY: Burnley begin life without Michael Keane and Andre Gray with a visit to defending Premier League champions Chelsea. The key pair have been sold this summer, with Keane's place in defence going to James Tarkowski, while summer signing Jon Walters will slot into the forward line. Jack Cork is also pencilled in for a debut in midfield but Phil Bardsley is not fully match fit and may be made to wait.

CRYSTAL PALACE: Crystal Palace are expected to hand debuts to summer recruits Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jairo Riedewald. Timothy Fosu-Mensah is also in contention for his first appearance, but Yohan Cabaye and James McArthur remain short of match fitness, and Bakary Sako has been ruled out with a knock. Goalkeepers Wayne Hennessey and Julian Speroni are competing to be new manager Frank de Boer's first choice.

HUDDERSFIELD: Huddersfield will start their first top-flight campaign in 45 years without four injured players at Crystal Palace, though newly-appointed captain Tommy Smith is expected to be fine. Both Martin Cranie (hip) and Jon Gorenc Stankovic (knee) are long-term absentees but Jonathan Hogg and Nahki Wells (both ankle) have a chance of featuring this month before the international break. Smith fractured his foot in the Championship play-off final win over Reading in May and has missed the bulk of pre-season but, after Mark Hudson's retirement was confirmed this week, his successor as skipper has declared himself fit to lead the team out at Selhurst Park.

EVERTON: Wayne Rooney is set to make his first Premier League start for Everton in 13 years. Midfielders Ross Barkley and James McCarthy, whose futures have both been the subject of speculation this summer, are unavailable following groin and knee injuries respectively. Winger Yannick Bolasie (knee) and defenders Seamus Coleman (broken leg) and Ramiro Funes Mori (knee) will miss the start of the campaign with longer-term problems.

STOKE: Stoke have a handful of summer signings ready to make their debuts. Darren Fletcher, Kurt Zouma, Josh Tymon and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting have been brought in by manager Mark Hughes, with all four in contention. Ibrahim Afellay (knee) and Stephen Ireland (broken leg) are the only absentees as they continue to recover from long-term injuries.

SOUTHAMPTON: Virgil van Dijk has been ruled out, officially due to a virus. The former Celtic star continues to agitate for a move away from the club, but has been ruled out of Saints' first league game of the season in any case. Summer signings Mario Lemina and Jan Bednarek could make their competitive debuts for Saints as new boss Mauricio Pellegrino takes the helm for the first time in the Premier League.

SWANSEA: Swansea have omitted Gylfi Sigurdsson from their season-opener at Southampton as the saga over his proposed transfer to Everton continues. Fernando Llorente is absent after fracturing his arm while on a cycling holiday last month, joining Nathan Dyer (Achilles) and Ki Sung-yueng (knee) on the sidelines. England Under-21 striker Tammy Abraham is expected to make his debut on a season-long loan from Chelsea.

WEST BROM: Gareth McAuley and James Morrison will miss out through injury. Central defender McAuley is struggling with a thigh problem and looks like he will be absent for most of August but it is hoped midfielder Morrison will be fit for the trip to Burnley on Aug. 19. Summer signings Jay Rodriguez, Zhang Yuning and Ahmed Hegazi are all in contention to make their debuts for Albion.

BOURNEMOUTH: Bournemouth must do without Junior Stanislas as the midfielder is set to be sidelined for around a month because of a groin problem. Summer signing Jermain Defoe is expected to be available to make his debut for the Cherries after the England forward completed a free transfer move from Sunderland. Goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and defender Nathan Ake are in contention following their respective moves from Chelsea, while forward Callum Wilson continues his long-term recovery from a serious knee injury.

BRIGHTON: Jose Izquierdo is unlikely to receive his international clearance in time to make his Brighton bow. The winger's move from Club Brugge is not expected to be completed in time for him to feature at the Amex Stadium, although Chris Hughton can call on new recruit Davy Propper, the midfielder signed from PSV Eindhoven. Midfielder Beram Kayal will miss the next two months with a broken leg however, and his absence restricts boss Hughton's options.

MAN CITY: Manchester City could hand debuts to four summer signings. Goalkeeper Ederson, midfielder Bernardo Silva and full-backs Kyle Walker and Danilo could all feature for Pep Guardiola's side. Another new recruit, left-back Benjamin Mendy, is missing with a thigh problem while midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is not yet fully fit after suffering a knee injury last season.

NEWCASTLE: Full-back DeAndre Yedlin will miss out through injury. The United States international could be sidelined for several weeks with a hamstring problem he sustained in pre-season. Striker Dwight Gayle is fit after his own hamstring problem and manager Rafael Benitez otherwise has only a series of minor knocks with which to contend as he prepares to send out his team - which could include several of summer recruits Florian Lejeune, Javier Manquillo, Mikel Merino, Christian Atsu and Jacob Murphy - for the first time since their return to the top flight.

TOTTENHAM: Danny Rose continues his recovery from knee surgery. Rose, who has apologised for giving an interview criticising the club's transfer policy on the eve of the season, is expected to be back in action in September. Erik Lamela (hips), Georges-Kevin Nkoudou (foot) and Kieran Trippier (ankle) are also missing.

WEST HAM: West Ham expect defender Aaron Cresswell to be available. Captain Mark Noble has shaken off a minor toe problem which saw the midfielder miss a couple of day's training, but Michail Antonio will not be involved as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury with a run-out for the Under 23s against Everton on Friday night. Striker Javier Hernandez could feature against his old club, while fellow summer signings Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and teenager Sead Haksabanovic could also make their Hammers debut. Forward Andy Carroll (groin), Diafra Sakho (back), midfielder Manuel Lanzini and Cheikhou Kouyate (both knee) all continue their rehabilitation.

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